In 2010, Dr. Susan Burks Creech returned home to Kingsport and acquired Colonial Heights Dental Group from Dr. Andy Collins and Dr. William 'Bill' Shepherd.

Dr. Susan Burks Creech knew at age 7 what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"In the second grade, at Miller Perry Elementary School, we had a dentist come to talk to us about brushing our teeth and flossing," said Dr. Creech. "I went home that day and told my mother I was going to be a dentist."

Three years later, she broke one of her teeth in a swimming pool accident on a Sunday afternoon. Her mother called Dr. William Shepherd and he came up to the dental office that day.

"Going in, I was scared and thinking I would have a broken tooth forever," said Dr. Creech. "But when I left, I was amazed how he made my tooth look good as new."

Later, both Dr. Andy Collins and Dr. William Shepherd invited her to come work for them - in the future, when she was old enough.

At 16, she took them up on the offer.

"While in high school at Sullivan South, I worked in their office a couple of days a week and was exposed to how a dental office worked," said Dr. Creech.

After graduating high school, she went to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, graduating in 2000 with a degree in Speech Communications. In 2004, she graduated dental school from the University of Tennessee at Memphis.

Prior to returning to Kingsport, Dr. Creech worked for the Church Health Center in Memphis and the Rural Health Services Consortium in Mountain City, Tenn. - both non-profits entities. In addition to helping her local community, Dr. Creech has also traveled to China and Ecuador on medical/dental mission trips.

"It was especially rewarding for me to be able to treat kids at an orphanage in China who had probably never seen a dentist before," said Dr. Creech.

In 2010, she returned home to Kingsport and acquired Colonial Heights Dental Group from Dr. Andy Collins and Dr. William "Bill" Shepherd.

"I was approached by Dr. Collins and Dr. Shepherd about buying their practice and was honored to carry on their tradition of quality dental care with a friendly hometown feel," said Dr. Creech. "I have really enjoyed getting to know all of my patients on a personal level while, at the same time, bringing them the very latest in dental technology and techniques."

The practice has a professional and energetic staff, with the newest addition to the team being 6-month old Caroline Estelle Creech, Dr. Creech’s daughter, who has been a frequent guest in her office. She and her husband, Jason, an attorney with Hunter, Smith & Davis, also have a 3-year-old son, Kale.

The office is located at 4621 Fort Henry Drive in the Colonial 81 Professional Center, just off Exit 59 in Colonial Heights across the street from Perkins restaurant. They offer a full range of services from basic cleanings and oral cancer screenings to tooth-colored fillings, crowns and bridges, dentures, partials, implants, gum disease evaluations and cosmetic procedures including veneers and all-porcelain crowns. Colonial Heights Dental Group can be found on Facebook and offers email and text appointment reminders. Dr. Creech welcomes new patients and can be reached at 423-239-7471 or online at www.colonialheightsdentalgroup.com.